svencandy
Level 5 Valued Member
I guess this is what "Variety day" looks like for Olympic champions
Are Handstands Important?
- Thread starter dmaxashman
- Start date
BillSteamshovel
Level 5 Valued Member
Me too. Just for fun. Have got a friendly bet with a nephew for Christmas 2023. Was supposed to be 2022 but stuff got in the way. Broad plan very similar to yours.
I "wasted" a lot of time once learning how to juggle, but it was interesting and enjoyable learning stuff and am now secure in the knowledge that if I ever drop a club I can kick it back up into the air with my feet, immensely satisfying, but completely useless against a charging hungry tiger.
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Wifi
Level 2 Valued Member
Unless you dropped the club as the tiger was charging, and you can kick it back in your hand to fight the tiger...
Whosonfirst
Level 8 Valued Member
I could still do them in my mid-60's. then had my 2nd shoulder surgery+bicep tendon repair in 2018, and haven't tried them since. It would be more of a question of balance these days. Grimek, Reeves, and Hoffman doing them were my influencers.
GovernorSilver
Level 5 Valued Member
Among the various reasons given in the StrongFirst articles why handstand/HSPU might not be a waste of time, that I can relate to:
- Better control of my body
- Better awareness of my body in space, especially upside down
- Wrist strength (when done with palms on floor)
- Another push exercise option to have when on travel
- Another exercise option to have for supersetting with lifting heavy stuff overhead (like Paul Anderson did)
- Some people do handstand on their active recovery day between moderate to heavy lifting days.
- Crazy strong trainees can progress to unilateral HSPU on rings
Various yoga websites list the benefits of inversions as well. Being able to do an inversion without needing a yoga sling or other prop would be cool.
I got a FeetUp trainer when it was on sale, after hurting my neck the first time I tried the headstand - got the hand positioning wrong and tumbled... ouch! The FeetUp eliminates the pressure on the top of the head. I'll definitely use it as a substitute for the headstand part of the progression, when the time comes.
I got as far as tuck shoulder stand on parallettes , and progressing on pike pushups to working with elevated feet. What's been holding me back is not realizing that my tendons need conditioning to handle the load of pike pushup with elevated feet, let alone handstand/HSPU. I kept pushing myself to harder progressions and hurting myself.
As a result I know now why Karen Smith's articles on HSPU progress towards it the way they do - headstand, then straight-arm pike hold, then wall handstand, before you even try to move. The holds are a form of isometric training that condition the tendons.
DennisDilday
First Post
Handstands (2 min X 3 with 1 min breaks) is a part of our Tai Chi syllabus (which is traditional). It does what it does for strength and endurance, but I believe it is also thought to relate to how hard you can hit (I could be wrong). I just remember how hard it was to do 15-20 seconds in the beginning and how great it felt to be able to, eventually, do two minutes (I never got to 3X2). Tai Chi has a deep appreciation for isometric exercise - combined with a million reps, of course
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.bluejeff
Level 6 Valued Member
I taught handstands for several years in group and one-on-one formats.
Regarding handstands and "strength:" Once you have the basic wrist strength/mobility and requisite shoulder mobility, handstanding is about exerting the least amount of effort to stay up. I have trained people who could hardly do a clean set of pushups but could do handstands just fine. There are handstand skills (press handstand varieties, bent arm handstand work such as HSPUs) that require and build strength, but a basic handstand, unless done for considerably long hold-times, is not a strength skill imo. It's worth noting that many very strong calisthenics athletes cannot hold a freestanding handstand for longer than a minute.
Regarding carry-over to lifting things that are not your own body, and whether or not it is a "necessary" athletic skill to develop: Carryover to anyting not handstand or calisthenics oriented is highly debatable. I've seen calisthenics athletes who can do very high reps of HSPU do barbell OVHP significantly greater than bodyweight, and I've also seen the exact opposite. I wouldn't dare draw a line in the sand one way or the other.
Bottom line, and my two cents: if you're interested, and you have fun in the process, do them. That said, acheiving a solid freestanding handstand can take anywhere from 6 months to 10 years, depending on your physical condition when you start training them, and how dedicated you are to training them. I'll be honest, even with decent shoulder mobility at the start, you're considering potentially years of staring at the floor trying not to fall over, and that can be just for a basic handstand. If you're up for something that requires discipline, awesome. If you don't think you can or want to spend hours each week doing shoulder prehab and very basic handstand drills, it might not be for you.
Personally, I still want to get back to them after a few years of setbacks (for a variety of reasons). It feels really cool to be able to balance and move around upside down. I think it's fun, personally. It's just not something you can hurry your way through.
Regarding handstands and "strength:" Once you have the basic wrist strength/mobility and requisite shoulder mobility, handstanding is about exerting the least amount of effort to stay up. I have trained people who could hardly do a clean set of pushups but could do handstands just fine. There are handstand skills (press handstand varieties, bent arm handstand work such as HSPUs) that require and build strength, but a basic handstand, unless done for considerably long hold-times, is not a strength skill imo. It's worth noting that many very strong calisthenics athletes cannot hold a freestanding handstand for longer than a minute.
Regarding carry-over to lifting things that are not your own body, and whether or not it is a "necessary" athletic skill to develop: Carryover to anyting not handstand or calisthenics oriented is highly debatable. I've seen calisthenics athletes who can do very high reps of HSPU do barbell OVHP significantly greater than bodyweight, and I've also seen the exact opposite. I wouldn't dare draw a line in the sand one way or the other.
Bottom line, and my two cents: if you're interested, and you have fun in the process, do them. That said, acheiving a solid freestanding handstand can take anywhere from 6 months to 10 years, depending on your physical condition when you start training them, and how dedicated you are to training them. I'll be honest, even with decent shoulder mobility at the start, you're considering potentially years of staring at the floor trying not to fall over, and that can be just for a basic handstand. If you're up for something that requires discipline, awesome. If you don't think you can or want to spend hours each week doing shoulder prehab and very basic handstand drills, it might not be for you.
Personally, I still want to get back to them after a few years of setbacks (for a variety of reasons). It feels really cool to be able to balance and move around upside down. I think it's fun, personally. It's just not something you can hurry your way through.
watchnerd
Level 8 Valued Member
Actually, that's them at Asian Championships competition in the warm up hall.
So very much *not* a variety day.
svencandy
Level 5 Valued Member
Variety days and warm ups seem to have very similar objectives, get the blood flowing, have some funActually, that's them at Asian Championships competition in the warm up hall.
So very much *not* a variety day.
watchnerd
Level 8 Valued Member
svencandy
Level 5 Valued Member
You should try it, best rugby matches I ever played were with trainers that could make us laugh.I never have fun during competition warm ups.
May be the secret sauce the Chinese weightlifters are using by the looks of things
watchnerd
Level 8 Valued Member
That's just not how I, personally, do best when it comes to weightlifting.
My competition lifts are routinely 10% over my best training lifts (which are relaxed) because I respond to pressure and adrenaline.
I get faster and stronger when I'm amped up.
Aggression is part of the equation.
This is not unusual in strength sports --- that's the reason some weightlifters get slapped and use smelling salts.